Chapter Seventeen

Hawthorne

Aamon stands from the bed, his body still slick with sweat. "Thorne, you must understand something…" He walks toward the fire, which now has burned down to embers. "Love is complicated here," he says quietly. "Especially between beings like us."

His eyes darken, filled with emotions I can't quite decipher. Swallowing hard, his words bring discomfort because I sense he is shutting me down in the gentlest way possible.

"You are a mortal, Thorne, and I am something else. We exist in separate worlds."

The words cut deeper than I expected they might, twisting in my chest. "I know that," I whisper. "It doesn't change how I feel."

Aamon exhales a ragged breath, his gaze dropping to the floor. "I did not intend for this to happen. What exists between us is powerful but only due to the pact we created."

Sliding from the bed, my legs still trembling like a fawn, I can't stop myself from stepping toward him. I reach out to brush my fingers against his hand, peering up into his eyes. "I told you earlier this is worth it."

Aamon looks up at me, his golden eyes filled with anguish, an emotion I have never seen before. His hand covers mine with a warm, familiar weight. "I care." His voice is strained. "If I were to lose you, Thorne, I don't know what I would become. You have awakened something I had long thought dead, and that is why I can't allow this."

His confession feels like a punch to the gut. I see the conflict in his eyes and the battle between his desire and the responsibility he must feel as a ruler. It's cruel, this love we found.

"You cannot mean that," I choke out, my fingers gripping his hand desperately. "Please."

Aamon shakes his head, his expression hardening, though I see the pain still lurking beneath it. "We can't be together. One day, you will die as all mortals do. And I will remain… alone."

Tears sting at the corners of my eyes, the reality of our situation crashing down on me brutally. Aamon brushes his hand against my cheek, wiping away a falling tear. His touch is gentle, and that makes the pain all the sharper.

I want to scream and rage against the unfairness of it all, but instead I stand there staring at him with my heart breaking in my chest.

"If I could give you the world, I would," he continues. "But this will only lead to more pain for us both."

I nod, even though every fiber of me wishes to fight against it. I understand. Aamon can't allow himself to love me the way I do him, and there would be no way for me to remain in this realm with him without losing my life.

I step back from him, shaking my head, creating an insurmountable distance. His face is filled with grief that mirrors my own. Just like that, it's over. The hope, the love that blossomed between us is snuffed out in an instant, leaving coldness in its wake.

Aamon turns away from me. The line has been drawn, and we will never cross it.

And so I walk away, knowing that, no matter how much we may want it, we can never be together.